A New Beginning
by Euthaniel
Summary: Years after Slade was taken down, the Titans are still in Jump City, searching for a killer who's been on a murder and robbing spree, when they find someone different entirely. This strange man, should he be trusted?


On a cold, rainy night, a man sat alone in his living room, reading a book by the fire. A normal setting for a man at the time, some would say. A good book by the fire when the weather is dreary is a delightful thing. But this wasn't your average man, his house wasn't average, in fact, nothing about the man was anything ordinary.

The man sighed, casually, and in an almost bored sense, flipped the pages of the book before resettling in his seat. He sat there, for a bit, before being disturbed by a slight beeping. He turned to look at his nightstand, which had a small monitor on it. Apparently, someone was breaking in. He rolled his eyes before marking his place in his book, and making his way off to face the intruders.

* * *

On the different side of the building, the Teen Titans were moving through the building, searching every inch of the place. It was an absolute mess, the concrete floors and walls and even the concrete pillars connecting them were covered in dust, broken boxes were thrown around the room, and it stunk. Robin turned a careful eye over the place, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He held up his hand and made a signal, to which Beast Boy reacted. He transformed himself into a small cat, and quickly and quietly searched around. Robin then turned his attention to Raven, making a small nod in her direction. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her hold up a hand, and close her eyes for a moment before nodding. Someone was here. Someone who was believed to be causing havoc in Jump City. There was a wild killer and robber on the loose, and the police were unable to catch him. He was extremely dangerous, having a very high kill count, and robbing millions of dollars single-handedly somehow. Robin held up his hand and motioned forward. Cyborg and Starfire took up the sides, ready to blast anything that jumped out suddenly, Robin in front looking around carefully, with Raven behind him, still scanning the house as best she could.

Before long, a door opened out of no where on the other side of the long room, with a bright light and a dark silhouette in its frame. The man stormed out towards the team.

"Hold it right there!" Robin called out, reaching for his combat staff. Cyborg and Starfire immediately turned their attention to the man, while Beast Boy came out of searching and turned into a wolf, ready to pounce on the man.

"Just what do you think you are doing in my house?" The man asked, very loudly to everyone's surprise. "You are trespassing, and if you do not leave now I will force you out, and trust me, it won't be so nice."

"Ha, I'd like to see you even try man." Cyborg pipped up. "Besides what kinda crazy place is this you'd call your house?"

"What? Oh these filters." The man asked bewildered for a second. He raised his hand, which caused alarm for Robin who dashed to the man, staff out and in position to strike. "No sudden movements." Robin said, glaring up at the man.

* * *

The strange man smiled and snapped his fingers high in the air. The room turned bright, and had changed, to everyone's surprise. It was a normal room as far as they could tell. In fact, it was a library, with the walls filled with books and paintings where shelves wouldn't fit. "Get that away from me, before I make you." The man said coldly. "If I wanted to harm you, you'd be dead." Robin looked up to see a cold pale blue glimmer in the man's eyes. Robin grinned, almost challenging him. As if reading his mind, the man grinned back. "I had hoped you would." The man leaned closer, lowering his arm onto Robin's weapon to rest his hand on it. "I'm telling you this now, boy, do not try me." The man glared at him, and Robin had to stifle a shudder. There was something wrong with this man, but Robin couldn't figure out what. If it was the killer, surely he would have ran, or tried to fight, but this man, was different. He wasn't even that much older than Robin, who was 19 himself at the time. Robin backed off slowly walking back to the group, who were watching them intently the entire time. The man smiled victoriously, before surveying them. "Ah, the famous, Teen Titans! Although you won't soon be teens, will you? No you seem older." The man said, as he looked each one over. Their clothing hadn't changed much, but they were older, no doubt. He stopped for a moment, looking at Raven in particular. She met his stare, as best she could. There was something off about the way he looked at her, as if he was trying to read her, and… surprised? His eyes only lasted for a moment but Raven felt like it was an hour. She mentally shook her head, trying to get the image of him out of her mind.

"Now, I'll ask once again. What are you doing in my house?" The man stated loudly again. "Please do not force me to ask again."

"We're looking for someone dangerous." Robin stated in reply.

"You'll have to be more specific, as I assure you that you shouldn't be looking for me." The man stated.

"We're looking for a killer and robber who's been terrorizing Jump City." Robin stated.

"And do he and I share the same appearance?" The man asked.

"No." Robin stated. The man who they were looking for had a scar running across his forehead, down his chin line, and had short shaven brown hair. The man who stood before them had pale grey hair, reaching down to his shoulders, swept back. He was around six and a half feet in height, and besides his above average broad shoulders, was a rather thin looking man.

"But you thought he was here, why?" The man asked.

"It's an abandoned building with signs of life coming from it. We could tell someone was living here, so we thought the killer would hide out here." Robin stated. "What's your name?"

"None of your concern. Call me something, I really don't care." The man said dismissively. Robin made a mental note to file him under the name X for his records. X turned his head towards the rest of the group, before settling on looking at Raven again.

"You, we need to talk."

"Whatever you have to say to her, you say to the rest of us." Cyborg chipped in.

"That's not necessary." X stated coldly. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers, and before they could react, Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy were all trapped in tubes that seemed to come out of no where. Raven looked around bewildered for a second, before raising her hands, ready to defend herself.


End file.
